The Princess and The Pauper
by KukkiaKipu
Summary: Princess Stella is being forced to marry against her will for the good of her kingdom, even though she loves another. Flora is a hard-working seamstress who dreams of a better day. When they meet, they discover that they'll be more useful to one another than they had originally anticipated. SxB FxH.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so I was looking back at some of my old favourite Barbie movies (don't judge me okay, I don't need to EXPLAIN myself to you) And I thought it would be nice if I uh… 'Winxed' it up a bit. Yeah. Okay. That was a bit lame.

Stella is the princess and Flora is the pauper!

Disclaimer: I love you Ignio Straffi, you rock. And I don't own yo' shizzle.

**The Princess and the Pauper**

~ The Princess~

"Princess Stella hold still! The wedding dress won't fit properly if you keep squirming like that!" The royal seamstress told the fuming princess firmly. She pulled Stella back into the middle of the pedestal and began tightening the ribbons at the back of the royal wedding gown.

"Princess Stella? I have your timetable for today." The royal wedding planner entered the room and started to circle the princess. "The royals of the realms of Eraklyon, Downland and Magix are coming to give your engagement blessing at lunch. After that, you must learn the royal wedding vows and decide on a colour scheme for the flowers at the ceremony. As for tomorrow, you have to-," The royal wedding planner was cut off by the chef entering Stella's quarters.

"Princess Stella! We need your decision to be made! Beef or salmon?"

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF SHOES SHUT THE HECK UP!" Princess Stella yelled. She stepped down from the pedestal and stormed out of her room. "Stupid marriage…" she muttered as she walked into the library. "Stupid… Books…" she slumped down at her studying desk, "Stupid life…"

"Stella, you know you're getting married in four days. It's very stressful for the wedding planners when you don't cooperate!" a familiar voice laughed from behind a bookshelf.

"Hey… I know that voice!" Stella said slyly. The voice laughed again and out stepped Brandon: Princess Stella's mentor and one of her best friends. "BRANDON!" she exclaimed and jumped up to hug him. "You're the only good thing I've seen all day!"

"Hey, stop objectifying me," he sniggered. Stella hit him on the arm.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Yeah, sure," he sighed. "So. You think your ready to get married?"

"To someone I've never met? HELL NO!" Stella scorned.

"Come on, I'm sure he'll be nice."

"I don't care if he's 'nice' or not! I'm not marrying someone I don't love!" she said sadly.

"How do you know you won't love him?"

"Because-," Stella looked away, "Yeah, just because."

"There have been better reasons." Brandon laughed.

"I swear, as soon as I see his face, I'm going to ZAP HIM WITH SOME SUN POWER!" Stella gave an example by throwing an orb of sun magic at the ground, leaving a black spot on the ground.

"Stella, you know you need to marry him. So much money has gone missing from the kingdom. If you don't then… The towns people will suffer." Brandon said sadly. "Trust me, I don't think this marriage is right either. I really don't want it to happen…"

"Well you seem to be favouring it a lot more than I am." She pouted and folded her arms. "And plus, I've never been allowed outside the castle walls before! I don't know who I'll be saving or what kind of difference I'd make."

"In that case," Brandon stood up, "Want to sneak out?"

~ The Pauper ~

The only noise throughout the basement room of the dress shop was the endless clicking of the sewing machines. Flora looked over at her best friend Musa, who was getting more and more frustrated as time went by.

"Stupid… Hem… Why… Won't… You… keep… straight…." she hissed through her teeth. There was a rattle, and the bobbin fell out of the machine. Musa screamed and pulled the machine off the desk and held over her head.

"MUSA! DON'T" The young brunette yelled, "She'll deduct your pay again!" Flora quickly swiped the machine off of Musa and carefully placed it back on the desk. "Damn… Being angry gives you strength."

"What's going on down here?" The door was thrown open and in walked Griselda. The owner of the prestigious 'Formal Flare' dress shop and lived to make the lives of Flora and Musa a misery.

"N-nothing." Flora said quickly.

"I definitely hope I didn't hear you singing again, Miss Musa,"

"Musa has a beautiful voice, and it's the one thing you can't take away from her!" Flora scorned.

"Miss Flora, you just added another two months for your debt to be paid off." She smirked.

"Hey, but that's not fair!" Flora protested.

"I guess your parents should have thought about 'fair' when they borrowed so much."

"They did it to feed me!"

"Their mistake." Griselda slammed the door shut and the two girls heard her scramble up the stairs.

"Well. That makes four years, two months, and three days until I can get out of here." Flora sighed sadly. Musa put an arm around here.

"At least you can't beat my five years, six months and twenty days!" she grinned proudly.

"Musa, you really shouldn't be so reckless! When we leave I want to leave with you, I'm not going to leave you here alone."

"But as long as I'm here, I'm going to do what I want. Life's too short to just sit around and wait for the next obstacle."

"I'm still not sure about that attitude." Flora raised her eyebrows. Musa's tummy rumbled, and Flora's eyebrows rose higher.

"SO… HUNGRY…" Musa face planted the desk.

"Check the cupboard. Maybe there's something in there." Flora instructed, continuing to fix the stitching on the dress she was working on. Musa dramatically walked over to the small cupboard and recoiled in disgust when she saw what was inside.

"Okay, so we either have two rotten apples, or a napkin. I call the napkin!" Musa said.

"Apples?" Flora asked, "Ooh! Bring them over!"

"Ew, are you sure?" Musa picked them both up with the napkin and brought them over to Flora. "Enjoy your meal…" Flora just laughed at her friend and placed her hands on both apples. Musa mentally slapped herself in the face when she saw the apples regain colour and size until they looked fresh and juicy.

"I completely forgot magic existed…" Musa muttered as she took one of the apples. They weren't allowed to use their powers to make the dresses; if they did then they couldn't be advertised as 'handmade', but every so often a little magic came in handy. "It must be so cool being the fairy of nature."

"Nah." Flora shrugged and stood up. "I'll take my break now, and I'll go buy us some bread. An apple still isn't enough food."

"When do I have my break?" Musa pouted.

"You took your break when you had that extra half hour in bed this morning!"

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"I'll see you later Muse," Flora said half way out the door, "Oh! And if I see that cute specialist Riven, I'll make sure to tell him that you said hi!" Flora giggled and shut the door before Musa had time to react.

~In the square~

"I can't sell you a loaf of bread for three credits, the recession has hit hard and we're ALL struggling! So I can't haggle with you any longer. Five credits, or no bread at all." The shop owner yelled at poor Flora.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to be so rude about it." Flora put her purse away. "I'll be back when I have some more money."

"Well hurry, the price will probably be higher by then." He smirked. Flora sighed and walked out of the shop.

"Maybe someday Musa and I will get the chance to run away. Until then… I hope Musa likes carrots."

"EXCUSE ME!" Flora heard a voice yell.

"Wha-? AH!" She felt a harsh force push into her and send her flying to the ground. "What was that?"

"That was me!" she heard the same voice say triumphantly.

"Yeah. I gathered that." Flora stood up, brushed herself off and met the face that had just sent her to the ground. It was a blonde girl with a pale, but sun kissed complexion and deep auburn eyes. She was the exact same height and shape as Flora. The girl was wearing designer jeans and a posh dressy top. It was a contrast to Flora's own dirty white mini dress.

"I overheard your conversation with the baker… and I… I bought you a loaf of bread." She held up a paper bag and gave Flora a smile. Flora gasped.

"You really didn't have to do that!"

"Oh come on, you look like you need it," she thrusted the bag into Flora's hands.

"I… I don't know what to say… An act like this is really hard to come by these days,"

"Hey Stella!" she saw a brunette boy run over to her. "I thought I lost you in there, you really have to tell me when you leave!"

"Brandon?" Flora asked. Stella looked shocked.

"Oh, hi Flora. It's nice to see you today."

"Wait… You two know each other?"

"Brandon comes to the dress shop I work at all the time. What are you doing with all those dresses any way? I hope you're not wearing them yourself." Flora giggled, and Stella laughed.

"Nice one!" she exclaimed, and gave the brunette a high five.

"Actually," Brandon rolled his eyes, "The dresses were for this young lady. This is Princess Stella."

"PRINCESS STELLA?" Flora fell on her knees, "I'm so so sorry for being so rude before! Don't hate me your highness!"

"You weren't rude. What are you talking about? Get off the floor, you look weird like that," said Stella. Flora quickly got up.

"Your highness… What are you doing out here in the square? I thought you weren't meant to be outside the palace." Flora asked.

"Well… It's a bit of a long story. Do you want to go sit down somewhere? Oh, and do you know where a good place to sit down is?"

"Well, the park is just over there," Brandon suggested.

~The Park~

"So, you should know I'm getting married-,"

"To the Prince of Nighly." Flora sighed sadly.

"HOW IS IT THAT YOU KNOW AND I DON'T?" Stella exclaimed.

"Well… I grew up in Nighly. I mean, I'm originally from Linphea, but my parents and I worked in the palace."

"You did? Do you know what the prince is like?" Stella asked.

"He's great." Flora answered quickly. "You'll be happy with him. Any one would be."

"Well I don't want to be happy with him! There's… There's someone else…" Stella looked around and checked that no one was nearby, and saw that Brandon was by the lake. "It's Brandon."

"You like Brandon?" Flora asked.

"Like? NO! He's totally the one…" she blushed, "I can't marry someone else… I would go crazy if I couldn't spend the rest of my life with him… I don't know what I would do without him…"

"How do you know you love him?"

"I've known for years. He grew up in the palace. He's my mentor, and my best friend… He's always been there for me… But… Oh my gosh MY LIFE IS OVER!" Stella threw her arms around Flora's neck.

"I'm sure the prince of Nighly doesn't think it's right either," Flora told her.

"How would you know?" she said into Flora's shoulder.

"Well I've spoken to him before, he's… Really nice…" she blushed slightly.

"What's his name?"

"Helia."

Oooooooooooo

Well it's a new story! My inspiration is running thin for the other ones I've got going. Oh, except for 'You Shouldn't Have Trusted Me'; it's just that I have to figure out how to make it a lot less long-winded…

And Stella fans, pleeeeeeeeeease give me tips for that pairing…

Review and tell me what ya think!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad the feedback is all positive so far :D

And in response to GoodLuck2U, I'm not going to just tell you the whole plot yet, but I did think of that. (Wink)

**The Princess and The Pauper**

"Stella! Where were you? I've been waiting here in the entrance hall for hours!" Stella's mother, Queen Luna of Solaria exclaimed once she saw her daughter walk through the palace doors. "And what on Solaria are you wearing?"

"I was on a field trip." Stella said casually, "Brandon was teaching me about the town centre today, and the best way to teach me was obviously to take me there. And about the clothes, I would obviously have looked ridiculous if I went there in one of my gowns."

"Brandon, did you consider the fact that any one could have used it as an opportunity to assassinate the princess?" said a voice from behind the door. Out stepped Baltor, Queen Luna's advisor. They were wondering how the door had opened.

"Of course I did. I didn't let her out of my sight." Brandon furrowed his eyebrows. He had never liked Baltor. He always stared at Stella with a hungry look in his eyes, but Brandon could never figure out what it was he wanted from her.

"No one found out that you were the princess, did they?" Queen Luna asked worriedly. Stella's face crumpled a bit, but she straightened herself out and shook her head.

"No. But they kept staring at me because of the expensive clothes!" she posed proudly in her designer gear.

"For crying out loud, go and change into a gown for dinner. We're having dinner with Nighly's royal ambassador tonight." Queen Luna smiled weakly. Stella looked down.

"I keep telling you mum, I don't want to marry the prince of Nighly!" She said sadly.

"Wait a minute, how did you know that it's the prince of Nighly who you're engaged to?" Queen Luna asked curiously. Stella wasn't supposed to know until the day before the wedding, which was a week away. In fact, the only people who should have known the identity of Stella's fiancé was the queen herself and Baltor.

"Why does it have to be hidden anyway?" Stella came back with quickly, "Information travels fast, and did you really think I wouldn't hear?"

"Baltor and I agreed that it was the best thing for you."

"How is that the best thing for me!" Stella spat out, "I don't want to get married to him!"

Queen Luna walked up to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I know Stella, and I'm so sorry. I would love if it didn't have to be this way. I would get married myself… but I don't feel able, ever since your father died. I still feel that I have a responsibility to him."

"I'm sorry mum, maybe I'll end up falling in love with him anyway. Anything is possible when you live in a place like this." Stella said unenthusiastically as she made her way to her bedroom, leaving her mother at the bottom of the stairs.

"Thank you for looking after her today," Queen Luna told Brandon, who just nodded. "You've become quite attached to her, I suppose it may be hard to say goodbye when she gets married."

"You have no idea…" Brandon muttered, then bowed. "I'll see you tomorrow your highness." Then made his way downstairs. The queen walked in the opposite direction, to the dining hall, leaving Baltor by himself.

"Icy, Darcy, Stormy, where are you?" he hissed.

"We're right here." The three maids came out from behind the stairs. Darcy took out the pins that were holding her hair in and messy bun and flipped her long, brown hair into its usual neat, straight style.

"I can't wait until this place is ours," Darcy sneered, "I can't take another minute of clearing up after the princess,"

"Your stupid plan isn't working!" Stormy exclaimed, standing straight before Baltor, "If the wedding actually happens next week, it'll be too late for you to take over the throne!"

"Exactly!" Icy piped in, "Why are you standing by and supporting all the Queen's plans?"

"Besides, when you cleared out the palace bank account, you're plan was to _marry _the princess yourself, not have some chump from Nighly take your place!" said Darcy.

"I know." Baltor rubbed his temples, "Queen Luna made the marriage plans without me, the stupid old bat…"

"So what are you going to do about it!" The three girls yelled at him at once.

"I have a new plan." Baltor grinned slyly, "The wedding is in one week, so it will need to be administered tonight,"

~ The Pauper ~

"Flora, your half hour break turned into a three hour expedition! What the hell happened?" Musa ran up to Flora as she walked through the door and embraced her tightly, "You're lucky Griselda left shortly after you did, she's gone to get her materials from Domino, and won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Thank goodness!" Flora swiped her brow, "I'm sorry Musa, care for some… BREAD?" Flora grinned, holding up the paper bag Stella had given her.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Musa snatched the bag away and broke the fresh loaf in half, leaving one half on the side and the other half in her mouth. "I wath tho worrieth," Musa said before swallowing, "You're never late. Not unless there's a reeeeeally good reason."

"Well…" Flora smiled.

"Oh my god, is there a story behind this?" Musa pulled up a chair and sat down eagerly, "Shoot." Flora laughed and sat down next to Musa.

"I ran into royalty at the bakery today," Flora said casually.

"You WHAT?"

"Princess Stella herself bought us that loaf of bread!"

"Princess Stella? I can't believe it! Was she nice? What did she look like? How old is she? SPILL IT SISTER!" Musa literally grabbed Flora's shoulders.

"She was… Eccentric, but nice. She's blonde and she's sixteen. Like us." Said Flora, before brushing Musa away, "But the most exciting part is that you know that guy Brandon who comes here all the time?" Musa nodded, "Well, he's Stella's mentor, and all the dresses he bought from us were for the princess!" Flora and Musa squealed excitedly.

"I can't believe she actually wears the trash I make!" Musa exclaimed. Flora shook her head.

"Muse, you have great taste, and whether you like it or not, you have a talent for sewing."

"Don't you hate her though? I mean, she's marrying your crush since like, forever!" Musa frowned; Flora placed her hands in her lap and sighed.

"I left Nighly just before I turned fifteen, and I can't believe that I still can't get him out of my head." Flora said sadly, "But Stella told me that she doesn't want to marry him, she's in love with someone else."

"Ooooh," Musa smiled slyly, "Anyone we know?"

"Brandon!" Flora squealed.

"Oh my goodness how romantic! From both ends! Forbidden romance all the way!" Musa stood up dramatically, "You're in love with Prince Helia, and your not royalty, and Stella's in love with Brandon, and he's not royalty! IT'S DESTINED TO END IN TRAGERDY!" Musa exclaimed excitedly.

"Please don't say that," said Flora.

"I know. I'm destroying your dreams." Musa put an arm around her. "But I'm your best friend, and my job is to keep you grounded. It's never going to happen with Helia, I mean, I'm sure he'd fall head over heels for you if the social ladder didn't exist… But, maybe in a different life time."

"I appreciate that Musa." Flora said unenthusiastically.

"Anytime," Musa winked. "So. Does the princess know you're in love with her fiancé?"

"No. I didn't want to complicate anything." Flora shook her head.

"What would it be complicating? Stella needs to know who she's hurting. Flora, come on-," said Musa as Flora stood and walked over to the basement steps.

"I don't need her pity. She has her own problems."

~ The Princess ~

"Let me see… What should I wear…" Stella opened her wardrobe and stared at the rows and rows of dresses she owned, and shelves and shelves full of shoes. "Maybe I should wear something hideous to repulse the ambassador…" Stella wondered. "Oh who am I kidding? I don't OWN anything hideous!"

Outside in the hallway, Stormy moved quickly to Icy, who was stationed in the hall.

"Everyone is in the dining hall. The coast is clear," Stormy whispered. Icy nodded.

"Go and wait outside with Darcy," she grinned.

Icy knocked on the door of Stella's quarters.

"What do you want, whoever it is?" she heard Stella reply angrily.

"Quick, your highness! We need you help!" Icy called in a panicky tone. She heard a loud groan from inside the room, the door briskly swung open and Stella showed her face.

"What?" she asked firmly.

"Um… Your… Mother wants to change the colour scheme in the uh… in the music room!" Icy exclaimed, Stella gasped.

"I worked long and hard on that design! If she thinks that she can just change it, she's CRAZY!" Stella stormed out of her room.

"No no, wait Princess, she was deciding outside… By the stables!" Icy told her. Stella raised her eyebrows.

"What? Why?"

"I overheard her talking herself into it out there, and I came to inform you about immedietly… Your grace."

"Alright then, other way," said Stella. Icy followed closely behind her with a big grin on her face. They reached the stables and Stella turned back around to meet Icy's face. "Well?" she said impatiently. Stella felt a harsh force cover her mouth and something cover her eyes.

"Things just got a lot more difficult for you." She heard a familiar male voice say, and then blacked out completely.

~ Back in the Princess's room ~

"Princess Stella? They're waiting for you in the dining-," Brandon walked into Stella's room, "hall." He said quietly when he saw she wasn't there. "Where are you?" he asked into the silence. No response. He looked over his shoulder and saw a sealed enveloped propped up on her desk.

_To whoever it may concern_

It read on the front. He carefully opened it and read:

_I'm not marrying the Prince. You can't make me._

_I'm running away and there's nothing you or anyone can do about it._

_- Stella._

Brandon raised his eyebrows. He almost wanted to laugh it was so fake.

"Who the hell wrote this?"

Firstly, it had been written in black ink, and Stella had always demanded that her stationary was pink. Then, it wasn't even in her handwriting, being her mentor he knew Stella's script well. And finally, Stella loved her mother with all her heart and would never just abandon her like this. Also, Stella would have told Brandon about it. She can't keep a secret to save her life.

"Brandon, where's Stella?" Queen Luna walked cautiously into her daughter's bedroom with an anxious expression on her face, "Is she quite alright?"

Brandon thought for a moment. He didn't want to reveal that the note was false right away, as that may work to his disadvantage. Maybe he should play along for a bit, just to buy some time.

"I found a note, from Stella. I'm so sorry your highness, but she ran away." Brandon said sincerely. Queen Luna practically snatched the note away from his grip and read it over quickly several times.

"This can't be happening…" she said quietly, then fell to her knees.

"What is it, your majesty?" Baltor walked into the room and kneeled down next to the queen.

"Stella… She ran away…" Luna cried.

"I'm so terribly sorry, your highness!" Baltor said dramatically, "Here, let's go tell the ambassador," he quickly shuffled her out of the room. Brandon looked at where Baltor had been standing with distrust.

"That was weird," he said to himself.

Then, an idea bloomed in his mind.

"I wonder what Baltor would think if Stella suddenly reappeared," he gave a small smile.

All he needed was a girl, a girl the same age, size and height as Stella, and a little magic.

~ A/N ~

Please review! I love getting feedback, any writer would agree that it's what keeps us going ~


	3. Chapter 3

**The Princess and The Pauper**

"WAKE UP YOU LAZY GIRLS!" Griselda came smashing through the doors making both Musa and Flora wake up with a start,

"I didn't do it!" Musa said quickly.

"Do what?" asked Flora.

"Girls, it's time for work. I went all the way to Domino for the two of you yesterday to fill the shelves back up fabrics, SO NO EXCUSES FOR SLACKING OFF." Griselda slammed the door and went back up to the main shop area, where Musa and Flora weren't usually allowed.

"I swear, when I'm free I'm going make her taste my MUSIC POWER." Musa scorned, "And you're going to help me with your flower power."

"What are you even talking about?" Flora put a hand on her own forehead.

"Just plotting."

"Well it's too early to 'plot' we have so much work to do." Flora got out of bed and stretched out her joints.

"Stupid… Morning…" Musa copied her. Flora took a pale pink dress off her hook, and Musa picked out a pair of pale denim jeans and a red strappy top.

The two of them walked up the basement steps and started to work at there respective machines.

After a little bit of rattling Musa grunted and stopped working.

"I'm already bored!" she complained.

"Yeah…" Flora continued working away at the gown, "You do that…" Musa rolled her eyes. _It begins… _she thought. Whenever Flora's tired, you tell until five minutes later, when she tends to not make much sense.

"Jesus, Flora, you're exhausted. I'm getting you some coffee…" she stood up and walked over to the stove.

"I don't like coffee,"

"Some tea then?"

"Yes, green please,"

"Green tea doesn't have any caffeine in it,"

"Well forget it then…"

"Fine, green tea," Musa huffed, "It won't wake you up though,"

"Waking up is so… mainstream… Musa… You're the best…"

"What are you even talking abou- WHOA WHOA WHOA GET YOUR FINGER AWAY FROM THAT NEEDLE!" Musa pushed Flora away from the sewing machine and on to the floor, then sighed out with relief. "What time did you go to be last night?!"

"Even though we were working… I had a great summer… I love you Musa… You're the best friend ever…"

"What on earth are you girls doing on the floor?!" Griselda piped as she briskly came through the door. "God knows why, but Flora you have a visitor."

"Is it the pizza man?" she said dazedly. Musa couldn't contain herself and burst out laughing.

"She's pretty much still asleep," she sniggered. "One second," she stood up and grabbed a glass of water and splashed it in Flora's face.

"What! Where am I?" she blurted out, "… Why am I on the floor?"

"Flora, you have a visitor," Griselda huffed, "He's out back,"

"Oh, okay,"

~.~.~.~

"Brandon? You're here to see me?" Flora asked the young man leaning against the back of the dress shop.

"Yeah… I have some news…" he said sadly. Flora gasped.

"Are you pregnant?!" Flora exclaimed, and then saw the serious look on his face. "Sorry, couldn't resist," she grinned nervously, scratching the back of her neck.

"Stella's gone missing… Well, I actually believe that she was kidnapped."

"_THE PRINCESS WAS KIDNAPPED?!" _Flora exclaimed at the top of her voice. Brandon, by reflex, pushed her against the wall and put a hand over her mouth.

"_Don't tell a SOUL!" _ he hissed. Flora quickly nodded with her signature worry in her eyes. Brandon released her, "Sorry, but no-one can know, anyway, I need your help."

"What can I do?"

"You need to pretend to be Stella, just for a few days." Brandon said bluntly. Flora stared at him for a moment.

"Okay, am I still asleep? Because sometimes I can't tell."

"No, you're not." He said solemnly. "You just need to use a disguise spell, and no one will be able to tell the difference."

"Brandon… I'm really sorry." She began hesitantly, Brandon stopped her.

"Please don't say that! I really need your help!" he pleaded, "This can only lead to something bad, and plus… I need Stella back."

"You _neeeeeeeed_ her back?" Flora gave him a sly smile.

"I've known her since I was six years old, I have to know she's okay… She's my best friend…" he said quietly.

"You like her!" she squealed. Brandon rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. _I _don't matter. Just please help Flora, you wouldn't only be helping me and Stella, you'd be helping the whole kingdom of Solaria."

"Brandon, I could get into so much trouble. I've been locked away all my life, I don't want to continue that trend thank you very much." She folded her arms.

"You won't get locked away! I promise! Even if any one realises that you're not really the princess, I'll come clean and tell them the plan. It'll be fine." He pleaded again. Flora bit her lip, looked up and then back him.

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Really?! Thank you so much Flora!"

"-On one condition."

"What?"

"When we get Stella back, you have to tell her how you feel."

"That'll just complicate things-"

"She has to know!"

"Fine. Okay. I'll tell her." He sighed. Flora beamed.

"So what's first?"

"A spell to make you look like the princess." Said Brandon, "Do you know any?"

"I'm sorry Brandon, I can't cast a spell like that on myself. Some people can, but I never got the hang of it."

"Well, what can we do then?" he asked. Flora gave a grin and kicked the wooden door behind her; it flung open revealing Musa trying to work on a gown.

"AGH!" She screamed, and then moaned, "Floooooraaaa! What have I told you about that? There's this incredible thing called a door knob, you know."

"Stuff just got dramatic." Flora said seriously, "You'd better strap in your ears Musa, cause I'm going to take them for the ride of their lives."

Musa raised her eyebrows.

"Hi Brandon, I just wanted to apologise for Flora's lack of uh… normality this morning."

~.~.~.

"… And THAT'S why you need to turn me into princess Stella." Flora explained. Musa nodded.

"Okay, cool." She shrugged. "Be careful though Flo, I don't want to loose you."

"You seem pretty casual about this whole thing." Brandon pointed out.

"Meh," she shrugged. Brandon pulled out a photo of Stella from his pocket.

"This is the princess, okay?" he handed her the photo.

"That's the princess? Wow, she's actually quite pretty. Anyway-," Musa pointed a finger in Flora's direction. Her skin got paler, her hair went blonde and her eyes lost their distinctive green shine. She was still wearing her dirty overalls over her light pink dress.

"We'll sort out your clothes when we get to the castle," Brandon smiled.

"The spell shall wear off at midnight." Musa said mystically. Flora gasped, and Brandon also looked a bit concerned.

"What? Really?"

"Ha ha ha, nope. You guys are so gullible!" she laughed. Brandon sighed.

"Flora, we'd better get going."

"Wait…" Musa took Flora's hand. "Be safe, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you. You're all I've got right now- I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Musa said sincerely. Flora put her arms around her friend.

"And you're all I've got…" she said quietly.

"What do I tell Griselda?"

"Tell her I got hit by a leva bike and went to hospital."

"Cool. Good luck!"

"Thank you,"

"It's really weird seeing Stella act so… Unlike Stella." Brandon laughed, "We have a lot of training to do!"

~.~.~.

"Let me GOOOOOOOOOO!" Stella banged on the door of the basement to somewhere she hadn't actually seen. She had abruptly woken up on a cold, concrete floor, in a pitch-black room. This definitely wasn't the kind of treatment she was used to. Light outlined the basement door, and Stella decided that was the best place to stay.

When she was a young girl growing up in the palace, her mother decided that she should have a peer as a mentor, and took in Brandon. He was quite shy around her at first, but once they got to know each other they became fast friends.

While talking one day, Brandon told Stella that he would always protect her.

"Where are you now?" she whispered into the darkness.

~.~.~

_Sorry guys, I have been CRAZY busy. It's just the combination of moving house and homework being fired at me from every direction, which is getting a bit much, and my only free time at the moment is the time I use to sleep. No joke._

_I'll do what I can, and update as soon as poss, but PLEASE bare with me, and review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Princess and The Pauper**

"Oh, so she's not here?" Prince Helia asked Queen Luna.

"I'm afraid so." She replied sadly. "She went missing last night… Oh my goodness I hope she's alright…"

Prince Helia had a good heart, and was also very worried about the safety of Princess Stella, but a small part of him was happy that the whole situation was being postponed a little.

It was a bit much for Helia to take in, Solaria was a neighbouring planet to Nighly and the kingdoms had always been on good terms but had never met formally, and because of this Helia didn't have a clue of what the princess looked like until he walked into the palace and saw the massive portrait of the girl hanging above the staircase.

The first thing that came into his head once he saw this picture was, 'Not my type.'

Of course, Princess Stella was a very beautiful girl and apparently had bucket loads of personality, but that was never really what he looked for in a girl.

Humble, sweet and gentle were just a few of the words that came to mind when he thought about the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, not many princesses held these qualities.

He hadn't always had these ideals, he always assumed that he'd go after the superficial qualities like every other prince went for, but a few years ago there was a girl who worked at his palace. He spent his days watching her as she went about her daily business, and discovered that she must have been the most caring girl he had ever seen. His father was persistent that he was to marry a princess, and hadn't known girls to act any differently to any princess before he saw her.

They had had only briefly spoken to each other before, when she was lost Helia kindly escorted her to where she needed to be, but the girl left with her parents once the palace cut down on it's extra help.

Helia wanted to marry a girl just like her, ideally the exact girl, but he wasn't going to give himself false hope.

"I'm very sorry Prince Helia," Queen Luna curtsied.

"No, it's fine, I don't mind," Helia said sheepishly, "I really hope you find her, let me know on any progress with the search party, now if you'll excuse me…" Helia was about to leave when Brandon slammed his way into the throne room.

"I FOUND HER!" He panted, "Don't leave yet, Prince Helia!"

Prince Helia blinked in Brandon's direction, shocked from his outburst.

"You found my daughter!" Queen Luna exclaimed happily, "Brandon, thank you ever so much!"

"And without much further ado," Brandon cleared his throat, "May I present, Princess Stella!"

Flora walked into the room as steadily as she could, holding her head up high and gently balancing herself on the seven-inch heels she had been told to wear. It wouldn't have been so difficult if it weren't for the heavy ball gown.

'_Don't you dare slip, Flora," _she told herself. She averted her gaze over to Prince Helia, who looked happy but nothing about his face was telling her that she was anticipating the future. She couldn't believe that she was actually seeing him again; she thought that it would never. '_If only it were fate,' _she thought wistfully, but she knew it wasn't. She looked at her pale hands and glanced down at her long, straight blonde hair that was cascading down her front. Helia didn't know who it really was, so it couldn't be fate, could it?

"It's an honour to meet you, your highness," Flora bowed gently. "My name is Flo-ella. Flella. I mean, Stella! Stella." She stuttered, and then mentally slapped herself in the face. It hadn't even been a minute yet and she was already failing. Brandon nudged her slightly, reminding her to kick up the personality a notch. "Oh, err, my name is Princess Stella!"

"Stella! You're home!" Queen Luna ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe! Never do that to me again!"

"I won't, mother!" Flora replied, thinking about what her next sentence should be, "I just wanted to leave, but Brandon found me and put me on the right track, Brandon's uh… Fabulous!"

"So, as you know already, this is Prince Helia, your groom to be!" Luna beamed, Helia bowed slightly. "Say Brandon, how about we leave the to two lovebirds alone for a while and go have some lunch, hm?" she winked and dragged Brandon out of the room. Once the door slammed shut, Flora lifted her head and stared at Helia; who looked back with a blank expression on his face.

"So…" Flora began anxiously.

"So…" Helia responded.

"How was your journey over here? Nighly is quite far away," Flora said in an attempt to make some conversation.

"It was fine, thank you," He responded, "How was your adventure out of the palace?"

"Oh, it was, well… Fabulous?" Flora stuttered. '_I am not going to be able to pull this off.' _She thought sadly. Helia laughed a little and looked at the ground, awkwardly keeping his hands inside his pockets. '_Okay Flora, remember to be impulsive- but use knowledge as well. Remember- Brandon told you that Stella is very well educated, regardless of her 'flashy' front,'_

"So-" Helia began, "How do you spend your time around here?"

"Well, I'm notreally allowed to leave the castle walls, so I spend a lot of time reading, listening to music, dancing and socialising,"

"Reading? Interesting, who's your favourite author?" he asked.

"I like having a variety, but as a child I loved Rumer Godden, so I still read those quite a lot… But my favourite book is probably 'Chinese Cinderella', it made me cry!"

"Yes, that was definitely a sad one," Helia laughed slightly.

"How about you?" Flora asked him, he looked up thoughtfully.

"I don't know… I might have to go with Shakespeare for that one, do play writers count?"

"Let's say they do on this occasion," Flora giggled.

~ The Princess ~

Stella had stopped screaming, because she had realised a while ago that those three maids were far too evil to do anything to help her.

"They are SO getting fired," she grumbled. Her thoughts trailed back to the night it happened, the voice she heard… Who did it belong to? It was a man's voice, she knew that much. But it was so familiar! She couldn't put her finger on it.

It didn't matter anyway; she just needed to get out of the place she was in.

She decided to stand up and feel around for something she could use.

"I must be the biggest moron on Solaria!" Stella laughed out loud when she realised that she, the fairy of the shining sun, was fumbling around in the darkness. "Night light!" she exclaimed, holding her hand above her head.

The basement was full of old junk, various old building supplies and empty crates. She couldn't use her powers for much else, because the room was protected by a magical lock.

Despite that, a small window was by the ceiling, just big enough for the small princess to squeeze through. She wouldn't be able to open it with magic… But there was always the chance that they had forgotten to protect the window from her own two hands?

Stella pushed one of the crates over to the wall, and climbed up. She sighed at the window.

"You're my only hope… Let me through and I'll sign you!" she then recoiled at her own words, "I've only been alone for a few hours now, I'm already going crazy,"

She pulled a pin out of her hair, and then stuck it into the lock, twisting it in both directions and jabbing continuously. She pulled it back out again and huffed.

"This is never going to work!" She moaned. In a moment of slim hope, she grabbed the handle of the window and twisted it. Much to her surprise, the window sprang open. She had to stare at it for a couple of moments before smirking. "So they actually forgot to lock it? Alright palace, here I come!"

_~ A/N ~_

_Review please! I've been ill lately and my head is killing me, so it took me a few days to get this chapter done… There's only so long I can spend on a computer without feeling dizzy!_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Princess and the Pauper**

Prince Helia had been feeling a lot of different emotions since he had met Princess Stella that morning. He would be the first to admit to himself that he was going to have some kind of biased opinion of her, but he had not expected this.

First of all, it was clear that she was trying very hard to keep her head held up high, she kept looking down at the ground then quickly looking up once she realised how she must have looked. She seemed to have an air of natural poise and grace to her though.

Secondly, her look of awe at the palace gardens was like she had never seen them before in her life.

And finally, there was something that Helia found so familiar about her. She was so sweet, cute, kind and caring, just like the girl who used to work at his palace.

Helia was almost certain of one thing; he was falling for her big time.

"This is insane…" Helia laughed slightly as he took another drink of his wine. Who he thought was Princess Stella was sitting opposite him with a small mug of herbal tea in front of her.

"What's insane?"

"I'm not speaking for the both of us, and call me crazy but… I've only known you for a day, and I think I might be falling for you,"

Flora choked on her drink and looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Y-you do, do you?"

"I know, it's a little fast… But seeing as we're engaged anyway," he gulped, "I thought that I might as well… Just go ahead and say it."

"You're sure?" Flora asked sadly. Far too much of her own personality had leaked out while she was with him; if Stella and Flora switched over then all three of them would lead a loveless life. Who did he really love? Flora? Or who Flora had tried to pretend to be.

"Almost." He smiled.

~ Later, at dinner ~

"We're sorry Prince Helia, Stella isn't acting like herself… I suppose this whole situation must be a little stressful for her," Stella's mother seethed, staring daggers at who she thought was her daughter. Queen Luna was concerned at the way 'Stella' was acting, she was nothing like the girl she knew and loved. Stella had a reputation to uphold, so why wasn't she doing so when meeting her fiancé for the first time? Flora looked down nervously at her plate and pushed around the steak sitting in front of her. Apparently Princess Stella was not a vegetarian.

"Well? Aren't you going to eat up?" Queen Luna snapped.

"I-I'm not hungry." Flora stuttered.

"We had tea and cakes earlier, whilst we were on our walk." Helia said. "I have to say, I'm not very hungry either."

"Right." The Queen grunted.

"So… Yeah," Helia stood up and collected himself, "Thank you very much for today, and it was really great meeting you, Princess Stella," he smiled. As soon as he left the room, both Brandon and Luna were glaring at her.

"What on earth has gotten into you?! Or out of you?! It's like you've lost a chunk of your personality! Let me tell you something Stella, when you're going to spend the rest of your life with someone, you're HONEST with them. Think about that." She stormed out, leaving Flora and Brandon alone.

"I'm sorry!" Flora blurted out before he could say anything. "I just don't have it in me to act like her…"

"You couldn't have turned up the personality? Not just a little bit?" He said, his glare softening a little.

"… I tried, but…"

"The only problem with this is the Helia actually seems to genuinely like you."

"Excuse me, why is that a problem?" Flora folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, then what he said settled in, "Wait… You really think he likes me?" Flora said as she tried to hold back a smile.

"Well, it's a little obvious," Brandon rolled his eyes, "But the thing is, when you and Stella switch back, Helia won't be marrying who he thought he was,"

"Not if you tell Stella how you feel he won't." Flora said, folding her arms once more.

"Flora… I _can't_," He sighed sadly, "I'm pretty sure the welfare of the planet is more important than any stupid feelings I have. There is literally no money in the vaults- everything has disappeared."

"Well it must have gone somewhere!" Flora smiled encouragingly, "Don't give up just yet,"

~ With Stella (… The actual Stella…) ~

"What the hell do you mean you won't let me into my own castle!?" Stella screamed in the face of the palace guard. He recoiled with a look of disgust on his face.

"The princess was found earlier today! So unless I'm seeing double…"

"How can that be possible?! I AM Princess Stella!" she screamed again.

"You're not the first one to try using magic," he narrowed his eyes at her. Stella huffed.

"WELL YOU KNOW WHAT?" she said loudly before throwing her shoe at him. "I'll try again tomorrow when it's light and you can actually see me, and if you don't let me in them I will have your arse FIRED!" She took back her shoe and stormed off. What 'other' princess? What was going on?

It didn't take very long for Stella to think about where she could go. She knew that Brandon would be in the palace, and she didn't have time to pick up her cell while she was being kidnapped, so her next option was to go to the 'Formal Flare' dress shop, to see if Flora would take her in for the night.

When she got to the shop, she peered through the front windows to see Griselda perfecting the mannequins next to the till. Stella blinked a couple of times.

"She is _not _wearing a floor-length pinafore! Hell no, I'm going around back…" Stella walked around the back of the shop, and opened the wooden door, where she could hear a sewing machine working at full speed.

There was a pale-skinned girl looking frustrated at her needlework, and when she saw Stella she fell off her stool completely.

"FLORA?!" She exclaimed. Stella raised an eyebrow.

"What? No! Flora and I look nothing alike! What are you talking about?" Stella smirked, offering a hand to the girl, "I was actually looking for Flora, do you know where she is?" The girl stared at her for a second, completely dumbfounded, but then everything clicked into place.

"So you're the actual princess?" Musa asked.

"How did you know?"

"I-erm, long story. Maybe I'll tell you some time… But first I have to do something," Musa held up her hands. Stella's skin got tanner, and her hair turned brown. Stella looked at herself, and then at her reflection in the window.

"You turned me into Flora. Why?" Stella asked in disbelief.

"Well… Flora looks just like you right now and is at the palace pretending to be you, anyway moving on do you want some food? There might be some flour somewhere around here…" Musa said quickly, turning her back on Stella.

"What?" Stella seethed angrily. "WHAT THE HELL WAS FLORA THINKING?!" Stella exclaimed, grabbing Musa by her tank top.

"Get off me! It's a really long story!"

"Well TELL ME THEN." Stella yelled in her face.

"Okay okay," Musa sighed, "Brandon found a note in your room saying that you'd run away, he realised it was fake, told your mum that you'd run away, then came here and asked Flora to pretend to be you so that they wouldn't cancel the wedding, but he still wanted to buy some time to try and find you… What happened to you anyway?"

"I was kidnapped by three of my maids and some guy… I still can't place his voice. Anyway, I'm back, so we can switch back over now, right?"

"We should wait for Brandon," said Musa, "Oh and by the way," Musa slapped Stella across the face.

"What the hell was that for?!" Stella exclaimed, clutching her face in pain.

"It's from Flora,"

"What? Why? What did I do to her?" Stella asked.

"She didn't say she wanted me to do that, nor would she have actually done it herself. Flora and I are polar opposites that way."

"WHY did you just slap me?" Stella asked again.

"You know you're fiancé?"

"Not really, but go on,"

"Flora's been in love with him since, like, forever,"

"Oh…"

"Yep."

"I would have slapped me too." She sighed, "Why didn't Flora say when we were talking?"

"She didn't want to complicate things,"

"Well, we basically have nothing in common. If she wants Helia, she can take him. I'm in love with someone else."

"I know; Brandon."

"Hey! How? Oh… Flora," Stella shrugged.

"Don't worry, Flora and I tell each other EVERYTHING. We know each other's measurements, bra sizes, brand of tampon-,"

"WHOA TMI!" Stella exclaimed, forming an 'x' with her arms.

"We're with each other 24/7! What do you expect?" Musa laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Princess and the Pauper**

Baltor walked into the palace doors after being 'out of the country' for a little while. He was wondering how Queen Luna was holding up without her daughter; restless was his main guess. As he walked into the palace, he cleared his throat and expected someone to come running… But no one came.

"Fine; I'll escort MYSELF to the throne room." He scorned as he plodded up to the main doors, but no one was in there either.

"Hello?" He called "HELLO?!" Suddenly, Queen Luna came bursting out on to the staircase.

"Baltor? Baltor! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed as she scurried over to him. "It's been a nightmare around here; I've never needed your assistance more!" They both started to walk back up the staircase and towards the princess's quarters.

"I'm sorry I had to rush out so quickly," Baltor said apologetically, "Oh, and I offer you my greatest condolences, of course,"

"Condolences? Whatever for?" Queen Luna asked as she opened the door, to reveal Princess Stella (cough) Flora wearing a white wedding gown and being surrounded by most of the staff.

"Princess Stella?!" Baltor couldn't hide his shock.

"Hm? Oh! You must've heard about her little escapade, don't worry; she's safe and sound now." Queen Luna smiled warmly, "Everything's back on track now," _Escapade? Why didn't she say that she had been kidnapped? _He thought. Baltor approached the princess and gave her a quick smile.

Flora panicked. She had no clue who this person was. Should she know who he was? She discreetly turned towards Brandon and gave him her 'emergency look'.

"BALTOR." Brandon mouthed to her.

"Your excellence, how are you on this fine morning?" Baltor asked, bowing slightly.

"Uh… Good. I'm just dandy. Balthor." She replied quickly.

"Um, _Baltor,_" he corrected.

"Oh, yes, I apologise, sorry. I had um… a hair in my mouth?"

"Oh, how charming," he scoffed, "Anyway, I heard about your little event, whatever happened to you? Where did you go?" he asked, with a sound of false concern in his voice.

"Oh that… I just felt like everything was a bit much and had a bit of a break down, so I ran away… But Brandon found me, so now I'm just fine and… dandy." She had used the word dandy twice now. This wasn't good.

"Brandon? Where did you find her?" Baltor asked him.

"Oh, you know, around." Brandon shrugged.

'_What's their game?' _he thought.

'_What's his game?' _thought Brandon.

"If you'll excuse, me, something just came up." Baltor said and immedietly turned to leave the room.

"What in the realms could have come up in that split second?" Queen Luna asked.

"I have some concerns about the… Catering. Yes. The catering for the wedding. Goodbye." He briskly left, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.

"Excuse me, I have to go check on… The royal calendar, just to double check the princess's schedule for the day." Brandon bowed. He had to figure what Baltor was up to. Flora instantly felt helpless as soon as Baltor left the room. '_Just keep it together, Flo.' _She thought to herself.

"You let her escape. YOU LET HER ESCAPE?!" Baltor screamed as he burst into the cottage, where they had been holding the princess. The three maids simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"You were the one who forgot to lock the freaking window." Said Darcy. "It wasn't our fault, we didn't even realise!"

"And now the wedding is back on and everything, this is just freaking PERFECT. As soon as they tie the knot or whatever, my plan will be useless. Sure, I'll have all the kingdom's money, but what's the use without any _POWER?!_" Baltor yelled as he punched a wall. Brandon had arrived shortly after, and had made a point not to be noticed. '_So it _was _him all along, but… If the real princess escaped, then where could she be now? Wait.. The dress shop.' _Brandon left briskly and ran as fast as he could back into town, but unfortunately, he was careless and noisy. Baltor look out of the door and saw Brandon running away.

"You idiots can just stay out of trouble," Baltor smirked as he followed Brandon.

~.~.~

Stella examined the green fabric, laying it over the cutting table and smoothing it out. She tapped her chin with her index finger, and then screwed up the fabric, threw it on the floor and stomped on it with her heel.

"Whoa, girl, chill, it's only linen." Musa said blankly, not even looking up from her sewing machine.

"It has been YEARS! WHEN is Brandy going to get here?!" Stella whined.

"'Brandy'?" Musa snorted, "Stell, it's only been a day. Give it time. Flora isn't the most poised person in the world; I'm sure he has his work cut out."

"Isn't she?" Stella asked, "I swear she's always completely rigid,"

"That's not true; she is _so _clumsy. One time, I held the door open for her but she still managed to walk into it." Musa laughed, "Oh! And another time she walked into two lampposts in a row, and the same person was watching her each time!" Musa laughed even harder, "OH! And-,"

"You miss her, don't you?" Stella smiled. Musa nodded sadly.

"She's like my sister. She's always been there for me. I love her. I frickin' love that girl. And if this princey-prince that she loves breaks her heart, I will CRUSH HIM."

"I wish I had a friend like you, sure Brandon's great, but I can't talk to him about my crush on Brandon, because he IS Brandon."

"You just haven't had the opportunity to meet any other girls," Musa shrugged, "You're alright, for the time being, we can be friends, but once this is over we probably won't see each other again,"

"Alright? You did NOT just call the princess of you're OWN nation 'alright'." Stella put her hands on her hips.

"Actually, if you haven't noticed my somewhat ethnic look, I come from Melody."

"Melody? How did you end up here?" Stella asked.

"Ugh, long story, I ended up having to hide on a train for five hours and getting off at wherever it terminated, which happened to be Solaria."

"What? Why?" Stella asked, but Musa shook her head timidly.

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"… Oh, okay, that's okay." Stella nodded. "Anyway, how do you make a ball gown out of flipping linen?" she scowled, picking the green fabric back up.

"You don't. That's for men's shirts."

"Oh."

Just then Brandon burst through the door, looking around frantically.

"S-Stella?" he panted. "Is that you?"

"Brandy! Yes, it's me! What's going on?" she asked frantically.

"Musa, change her back," Brandon instructed.

"But- Flora is still-," she protested.

"NOW!" he exclaimed. Stella changed back to her regular self and sighed with relief.

"It feels _so good _to be blonde again." She said happily, "Now, what's up?"

"It's Baltor. It was Baltor all along. He stole the money so that he could be eligible to marry you and then take over the throne himself, we have to get back to the palace immedietly!" Brandon exclaimed.

"That BITCH." Stella seethed, "Okay, let's get going."

"I'm afraid it's a little bit late for that,"

~ A/N ~

Sorry it took me a while to update this one guys! You've probably realised that I'm set on the new story I'm writing right now XD Please review as always!


	7. Chapter 7

**The Princess and the Pauper**

Musa slowly opened her eyes and scratched her head. She pulled herself up and looked around at the room. Almost all the fabric had been thrown off the shelves, the sewing machines knocked over and the table was upside down.

"… Princess Stella?" she asked, observing the open door, "Brandon?" Musa stood up and looked around at the mess. "Shit."

~.~.~

"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A BIG ASSHOLE. YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE NOTHING TO NO ONE AND YOUR MUM IS UGLY!" Stella screamed at Baltor as he used enchanted rope to tie her to the back of Brandon.

"Where are we?" Brandon asked through gritted teeth.

"This room is the result of one of my minion's spells going wrong, it's under my old home."

"Wait, so we're in Linphea?" Stella asked, "That's where you used to live, right?"

"How observant of you princess, I didn't realise your pathetic little brain was able to comprehend that many words at once." He smirked. "Yes, we're in Linphea."

"And what do you plan to do with us?"

"Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you about my plans," Baltor shrugged. He began to circle the two of them and cleared his throat, "It wasn't actually that long ago that I was thinking about the perfect bride. The kingdom of Solaria, strong, light, grand and rich. The princess of Solaria, pretty and single. This was an opportunity I could not pass up. I had to marry you."

"GROSS!" Stella screamed, "YOU'RE LIKE 40!"

"I don't think that's the point, Stell."

"Anyway, I knew that you would never go for me, your mother's advisor, so I stole every single penny from your kingdom."

"It was you all along?" Stella said quietly, embarrassed that she hadn't noticed it sooner.

"Yes," Baltor smirked, "So, once I had finished sorting it all out, I returned to Solaria with a ring and the offer of marriage, to you Stella."

"NO!" she yelled in his face. He just laughed at her.

"The queen had quickly set up that pathetic engagement to that prince of Knightly, so I had to rethink. I kidnapped you until the wedding was postponed at the least, but then Brandon interfered… That must be some common girl posing as the princess…" Baltor pondered, "Anyway, not to worry, I have a new plan,"

"And what would that be?" Brandon seethed.

"Kill you both, kill the girl posing as the princess by framing her for your murder, and then asking for Queen Luna's hand in marriage."

"YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Stella reacted immedietly, pulling on her ropes.

"What difference would it make to you?" he laughed again, "You'll be dead anyway. I called for my house to be demolished, and this hill is going to become part of the protected nature land. You'll be stuck underground forever."

~.~.~

"It's a shame that we have to get married so fast, but I don't mind as much as I thought I would," Prince Helia kissed Flora's gloved hand, leaving her with a fake grin on her face.

"Yeah, sure…" she sighed.

"And you're alright for having the wedding this Friday?" Queen Luna asked hopefully. Helia nodded.

"Yeah." He smiled. Queen Luna hugged Flora tightly. Suddenly, Baltor burst through the doors to the throne room and pointed an accusing finger at Flora.

"THERE'S THE IMPOSTER! TAKE HER AWAY!" he yelled, as two palace guards grabbed Flora by her arms.

"Let go of me!" she screamed.

"What are you doing to me daughter? What is the meaning of this, Baltor?!" Queen Luna attempted to pull Flora away.

"This girl is not who you think, she's a criminal mastermind! She's nothing, she's just a common seamstress from the town centre, not the princess at all!"

"That's insane!" Helia proclaimed, standing forward.

"I would have said the same thing, your highness, but I just got an urgent call from the forest guard in Domino, there was a fire in a cottage in a deserted part of the woods, and it seems that the fire was man made. I asked them what they were telling me for, and they had identified the bodies inside as Brandon Jenkins, and Princess Stella of Solaria."

"NO!" Queen Luna exclaimed.

"It's true; and this girl planned it all, so she could be the princess and she could marry the prince!"

"That's not true!" Flora screamed, "I've never even been to Domino in my life! You've got to believe me! You can ask-," Flora was going to mention Musa, but Baltor cut in again.

"She's using a self disguise spell, but it is easily undone-," Baltor waved his hands and Flora's skin returned to it's natural tan, her hair darkened and her eyes turned to their original bright green. "You see?"

"You…" Helia said under his breath, looking at Flora in disbelief.

"I can explain!" Flora exclaimed, "Let me explain! It must've been him!" she turned her head to Baltor, "I would not have gotten mixed up in this if Brandon hadn't told me-,"

"THROW HER IN THE DUNGEONS!" Baltor yelled.

"PRINCE HELIA! YOU'VE GOT TO BELIEVE ME!" Flora screamed "I KNOW YOU KNOW ME!"

~.~.~

"We're in deep shit." Stella muttered as soon as the rattling of falling concrete had finished.

"You said it. Can't you transport us home?" he asked hopefully.

"There's no sunlight down here, he just left that lamp." She said sadly.

"This is all my fault…" Brandon shook his head slowly.

"And why would this be your fault?"

"I should have just told the queen that the note was so obviously fake." Said Brandon, "Then she would have just sent out a search party, and arrested Baltor on the spot. Poor Flora would be fine, and there would be no wedding because Baltor would have to give the money back!"

"You were careful, Brandon, but you didn't see this coming, none of us did."

"Well… Seeing as we're going to die and everything…"

"Yeah Brandy?"

"I just… Well… I guess… I've just come to really like having you around, I just always thought about how lucky I was to be able to be with you every single day."

"I was the one who was lucky." Stella laughed a little, "To have such a wonderful mentor!"

"It was so hard for me to fathom the idea of the wedding, I didn't want you to be away from me, I couldn't handle not being able to see you and hear your voice everyday."

"Brandon, I…"

"I've been in love with you for a really long time, Stella." He sighed, instantly regretting it seeing as he was going to be stuck with her with this awkwardness for the rest of his short life, but seeing as he had started he wasn't going to stop, "Everything about you is so special to me; your face, your hair, your smile, your eyes, your… feet, your laugh, your feistiness, your spark, and everywhere you go, you just have this ability to light everyone up. I didn't want to tell you because… I'm not a king or prince or whatever, and I can't support the kingdom financially, and I know we can't be together but… I guess I just thought that you had a right to know."

"BRAAANDON?! Why the hell didn't you tell me earlier?!" Stella exclaimed, sounding genuinely irritated.

"But I just…"

"I know you're not that timid! You could have told me!" she said angrily, and if her hands weren't tied, she would have folded them in pure disgrace.

"If I told you then that would have ruined everything your mother planned! I couldn't have that, everyone in the city, my friends, they would all suffer because of my own selfishness."

"But Brandon, what about me? I still would have had to marry someone I didn't love, and I know because… I love you too,"

"W-what? Really?" Brandon asked. Stella nodded, even though he couldn't see it, he took the silence as a yes.

"I-I would kiss you… But I can't from this angle…" Brandon sighed, "I'm going to miss you, your highness."

~.~.~

Flora sat in the dungeons with her face in knees.

"I'm in deep shit." She muttered under her breath. She wasn't sure what the penalty was for impersonating the princess; she never thought that she would have to know. "What was I thinking? What did I think I could accomplish by doing this?" It was so unlike her to do anything with even a slight sense of danger, even if it would help someone- this wasn't something that she liked admitting. She knew that if she said yes, she had the chance of meeting Helia again, and as a princess. It was a selfish idea, she should have said no. Then maybe none of this would have happened, she would have been free to search for Stella herself.

She looked out at the trees from the metal bars from the top of her cell. The wind whistled through the trees,

_Flora… Flora…_

"Not now, mother nature, I'm not in the mood." She narrowed her eyes at the trees, not her usual response, but hey, she had just been arrested, who could blame her?

_Trouble… Trouble in Linphea…_

"What kind?" she sighed reluctantly.

_The sun princess and the brown-haired boy are trapped under my soil… They are alive but their time is running out…_

Flora gasped, they were alive? Why would Baltor lie? And why say they were in Domino?

She needed to do something, but what?

_~A/N~_

_Yo gurl, what the heck to you so flipping long with this chap, huh?  
I don't actually know, I apologise _

_Yeah you do._

… _OKAY. Anyhoo, review please!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, okay. I know I said on my other story that I would not be updating anything until the end of June, but this chapter was half done, so I was all like 'why not?'_

**The Princess and the Pauper**

Riven removed his blue boots and rested his feet on his desk as he ate his pasta.

He had been visiting Solaria for a week every month to make sure there wasn't some terrorist conspiracy happening behind closed curtains. It was part of a previous trust problem Nighly had been having due to some war years ago; they had sent Riven out to Solaria a few years ago in the disguise of a specialist. Since the engagement was announced, he had been instructed to stay in Solaria just to make sure nothing went wrong.

It was an easy job; the Nighly officials were just being paranoid.

He liked it though; it had given him the opportunity to get closer to the prince of his own realm. Helia was a little soft for his liking, but he was a good guy.

His phone rang, making him jump.

"What?" he said angrily into the receiver.

"_Riven, we've got a problem. Something actually went wrong."_ Helia said on the other line.

"Well don't keep me in suspense, what's up?"

"_The princess… Wasn't actually the princess."_

"What?"

"_According to Baltor, this girl who was disguising as the princess killed the real princess and her mentor, Brandon."_

"Holy shit. What do you want me to do with her?"

"_Nothing."_

"I'm pretty sure there's a penalty for murder and fraud, your highness."

"_I don't believe she did it."_

"And why the hell not?"

"_Because it's the same girl who used to work at home, she always seemed so sweet… I don't think she's capable of doing something like that."_

"What does she look like? Maybe I saw her around the palace."

"_Brunette, tan skin, incredibly green eyes, I think her name's-,"_

"Flora?"

"_You remember her?"_

"No, no… But I know her… Her friend helped me, and so did she…"

FLASHBACK~

_Riven was walking through the town square. It was his very first week in Solaria, and so far, everything was going okay… Until someone slit his ankle open._

_He was just walking through an empty car park with his groceries, making his way to his apartment when he felt a searing pain in his ankle. He yelled and fell over, and the culprit made off with his groceries with a knife in his hand._

_It was an all was lost moment- he was sitting on the floor clutching his ankle with his teeth clamped together._

"_Hey!" He heard someone yell. He slowly looked up to see a very pretty girl with porcelain white skin and silky black hair holding up the burglar by his ear. "That is not on! You give that food back to this guy right now!"_

"_Agh, okay, okay! Here!" the burglar threw the plastic bag on the ground next to Riven._

"_And give that knife to me!" The girl commanded._

"_Fine!"_

"_Don't you let me catch you doing anything like that ever again, you got that?" she hissed in his face. "Get out of here." The burglar scrambled away, leaving the girl smugly holding the knife in her hand. "You can keep this," she handed it to Riven, "As a keepsake."_

"_Why did you let him get away?!" Riven exclaimed, still clutching his ankle._

"_Aw, he's just trying to survive, give him a break." She said, "By the way my name's Musa, and no offence, but your ankle looks gross."_

"_I'm Riven, and you're getting on my nerves."_

"_Aw, shame." She laughed, "Anyway, if we chat anymore you might bleed to death, and we wouldn't want that now, would we? My friend Flora can help you, she's good with this kind of thing."_

"_She sounds nicer than you,"_

"_She is," Musa laughed. "Come on, up we get," She grabbed his bag of groceries in one hand and used her other hand to pull Riven's arm over her shoulder. "We live around the corner._

~.~.~

"_Hey Mus- Oh my goodness!" Flora stood up and stared and the redheaded guy in the doorway._

"_Hey Flo, I brought a friend," Musa said casually, putting Riven's groceries down and pulling up and chair for him. "Can you do something about his ankle?"_

_Flora cautiously walked up to him and looked at his ankle._

"_I-I don't know, I think he needs stiches… I don't know if I can do it, maybe we should tell Griselda and-,"_

"_Flo, you know what Griselda will do if she finds we have some guy down here without telling her first,"_

"_Right… But I don't want to hurt him!"_

"_What about your power? Do you have some kind of magical botanical remedy or something?" Musa asked her._

"_Well there is one potion I know that numbs the area to the point where you can't feel it at all- it only lasts an hour. I need boiled water, mint, rosemary, lemon juice and my personal magic touch."_

"_We have the water, a lemon, mint, and your fingers but no rosemary…" Musa frowned._

"_Check… My… Groceries…" Riven said, growing weak due to the loss of blood. Musa rifled through and found some pre-packaged cooking rosemary, "Will it… Work?"_

"_This is freeze-dried," Flora frowned, "It will work, but not for a whole hour."_

"_Use it… please hurry," Flora nodded. Musa boiled the water, and Flora put the needle in the pan as she was doing so._

"_What was that for?"_

"_To sterilize it,"_

_Musa poured the boiled water into a bowl and Flora combined the rest of the ingredients. She then held the bowl in her hands, sending a wave of her magic through the liquid, dissolving everything and creating a new substance. Flora looked at Musa before shaking her head._

"_No… Too violent, I'll have to put it on him myself." She muttered. She set down the bowl, grabbed the first aid kit, a flannel, the sterilized needle and some thread. She submerged the flannel in the liquid and looked up at Riven._

"_This is going to hurt, but not for long. Musa, can you get something for him to bite down on?" Flora asked. Musa was sitting on a chair next to Riven with her head in her hands._

"_Aw man, I don't wanna get up…" she sighed, "Here," she held her hand in front of his face, "Bite down on it,"_

"_I don't want to bite you!" He said all at once, exasperated._

"_Just do it, I don't care,"_

"_No,"_

"_Do it,"_

"_No!"_

"_Do it or I make Flora stitch you up without her numbing potion!" Musa exclaimed angrily._

"_Fine," he said reluctantly._

"_Okay, one… two…" Flora quickly wrapped the boiling flannel around his open wound, making him bite down in pain. Musa winced._

"… _Ow…"_

_Flora dried her hands and prepared the needle._

"_Tell me as soon as you can't feel your leg, Musa, be a little more sensitive," Flora rolled her eyes. She got the bandages out of the first aid kit so they would be ready when she needed them. "Fun fact, because of my 'magic touch' the potion knows how to clean out your wound with out using primitive saline solution and anaesthetic wipes, we get to miss a step," she giggled._

"_Hooray." He said sarcastically, "Okay, I think it's good now."_

"_Okay, Flora, you can do this." She collected herself and poised the needle at the ready._

"_W-wait, haven't you done this before?" Riven asked nervously._

"_Once, it worked out fine. This isn't my favourite thing to do, you know." She took another deep breath and started to stitch up the wound. Once she was done, she cleaned off the access blood and wrapped it up in a bandage._

"_Nice one Flo!" Musa grinned._

"_Thank you," Riven said with a weak smile, "I don't really want to ask any more of you, trust me, but could I please have a glass of water?"_

"_Oh, of course, just give me a sec…" she ran off into the kitchen with everything she used to put him back together._

"… _Yay! You didn't die!" Musa gave him a thumbs up._

"_Sensitivity isn't your strong point, is it?"_

"_Depends on the person," she shrugged, "You're a tough guy, you can take it."_

"_Here's your water…" Flora came back in and put the glass on the table, "I'm going to go to sleep… I'm not 100% on blood… Come back in a week or so, the stitches need to come out at some point, and Musa give him some painkillers for when he gets the feeling back in his ankle…" She promptly left._

"_Thanks for helping me, I know you didn't have to and everything…" He said finally._

"_Oh that? It was nothing! But I'm glad you're okay, things around Solaria have been taking a turn for the worse- no one's sure why- we've gotta look out for each other."_

"_I'm actually kind of new around here,"_

"_I would tell you that it's fun and great and everyone loves each other- but that is not the case. We know that something's about to go down and it is tearing everyone up. But… Solaria has super duper weather!" she laughed. "Hey, we should be friends! I know Flora would say the same thing if she hadn't passed out!"_

"_You know what? I don't really make friends so easily, so maybe get my ankle sliced open was a magical stroke of luck," he laughed a little, "Speaking of magic, are you a nature fairy like um… err… Flora? Flora."_

"_No," Musa shook her head, "I'm a music fairy, I come from Melody,"_

"_Wow… That's really… Nice…" He smiled a little._

~ END FLASHBACK ~

"So that's how I know her; I see her all the time around the market, but I haven't seen her recently, I guess that would explain it…. She's definitely not capable of murder though, she's all about life."

"_I don't get it…" _Helia paused and thought for a moment,_ "How about you ask her friend, Musa, was it? She would probably know her better than anyone,"_

"Well, what happens after that?"

"_It depends, but if our suspicions that she's innocent are confirmed we need to break her out."_

"How the hell would we do that?!"

"_Riven, Nighly and Solaria are about to become very close partners, half of the Nighly palace guard are already in the palace. You happen to be a part of that team, all I would have to do is get you in and swap your shift with the person watching her. It's that easy."_

"Oh yeah, okay, I'll talk to Musa, bye." He put the phone down and stood up. "They couldn't postpone this drama until tomorrow? During dinner as well…"

~.~.~

"Muse, I need to- What the hell happened in here?" Riven walked into the back of the dress shop to see the place in a total mess, and Musa sitting on a chair with her head in her hands, crying her eyes out.

"Riven!" she exclaimed and gave him a bug hug- which she had actually never done before, "H-he took the princess, and he hit me- and he did all this- and the princess might die- and I have no idea where Flora is- if she's okay- if she's alive?!" Musa sobbed into his chest.

"C-calm down, did you say 'he'?" he asked. She nodded.

"Some old guy with long hair."

"What was the princess doing here anyway?" he asked. Musa sighed, wiped her eyes and told him the story from the beginning.

"I guess that I kind of maybe understand," said Riven. "So if Brandon was in on it, that proves Flora's innocence… We need to break her out."

"Break her out of where?!"

"Oh, yeah, I spoke to prince Helia, she's in jail,"

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW PRINCE HELIA?"

"… I'll tell you on the way up to the palace."

~.~.~

"Hey, Riven, over here," Riven and Musa flipped their heads around to see Helia leaning against a tree just outside the palace wall.

"It's good to see ya, man," Riven nodded.

"If he's the prince of your realm, shouldn't you call him 'your highness' and bow and stuff?" Musa raised an eyebrow.

"He doesn't need to, it's kind of weird seeing as we're friends and everything," Helia shrugged, "You must be Musa then,"

"That's right,"

"I just want to know if Flora would ever do something like this," Helia asked her sincerely. Musa stared at him for a moment before grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him up to her face.

"Listen here princey-prince-prince-face." She hissed, "I know every single thing about that girl. I know her better than I know myself. I know that she's absolutely terrified of moths, I know that she sleeps with the curtains open so that she can watch the stars at night, I know that in the morning she is so dazed that she can't tell fire from fabric. I know that every time a guy hits on her she turns around to check they're not talking to someone else, I know that when she worked in your palace she had the BIGGEST crush on you. I also know that she is going to kill me for saying that. Oh, and yeah, she would never do something like this."

"She mistook fire for fabric?" Riven asked.

"She thought the gas flame on the hob was a 'beautiful aquamarine that she had to use in her latest design'. She had those burns for a while." Musa let go of Helia's collar, letting him compose himself.

"The guards are all eating dinner, and the dungeons should be empty. We can try to break her out now." He said stiffly. "I'll show you where her window is, and I'll go into the prison."

"How do we get through the gates though?" Musa asked.

"Just follow my lead."

~.~.~

"Your highness, you are welcome to leave the palace as you please, but I'm afraid you are not permitted to bring in random citizens." The solaria gate keeper bowed.

"These are not random citizens, Riven here is a Nighly official," Helia gestured towards Riven, who held up his credentials.

"Very well," the gate keeper nodded, "But what about her?" he pointed at Musa.

"This is my incredibly distant cousin who arrived in Solaria for the wedding, but she has no where to stay. She won't be any trouble."

"Okay then, what's your name?" he asked.

"Err…" Musa hesitated, "M-isa… Misa."

"Okay, Misa, tell me one thing about the palace in Nighly, anything at all." He said smugly. Musa hesitated again.

"Hmm… They're gardens contain a unique species of rose that change their colour to match the sky."

"Oh, okay then," The gatekeeper opened the gates and the three of them walked inside.

"How did you know that?" Helia asked her.

"How do you think? Flora, duh."

"Okay, the windows to each individual cell are around the very bottom of the castle walls. If you use that path-," Helia pointed to a dark and uninviting looking path, "You'll find her one eventually. I'm going to go inside." Helia left the two of them alone.

"Musa, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while," Riven said as soon as Helia left, "Don't take this the wrong way, but, I was just wondering how you ended up in Solaria in the first place,"

"Don't repeat this to anyone… But I lived on the streets in Melody with both of my parents for the majority of my childhood." She sighed, "They were street musicians, and I just kind of played around while the scrounged for money. My mum got very sick, and ended up dying, which drove my dad to insanity. I don't know why, but I think he wanted to take it out on me. One day, I got so scared that I hid on a train, which was a train to Solaria. I remember on my first night Griselda found me sitting behind some bins, she told me that 'I was doing no one any good by just sitting there and not giving anything back to society'. I worked in the dress shop alone until one day, when I heard Griselda talking to some people in the main shop. I didn't hear a lot, but I remember a woman saying 'please keep her alive' in absolute hysterics. I was bluntly introduced to Flora, we sat in silence for about an hour and then she finally told me that she had no clue what she was doing. We've only been friends just over a year, but when you spend every single hour of your life with someone, you get pretty damn close."

"Do you know where you're dad is now?"

"… No." she said weakly, "To this day, I still can't believe that I just ran away from him, instead of trying to help him."

~.~

"YOU'VE GOT TO LET ME OUT OF HERE! STELLA AND BRANDON ARE IN GRAVE DANGER! PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!" Flora screamed through the iron bars. There was no point, she had been left alone. Stella and Brandon could already be dead, and all she could do was sit there.

"It's Flora, isn't it?" Helia walked out in front of her. She froze up completely.

"Yes, your highness." She bowed. What was he doing down here? All the possibilities ran through her mind and she quickly became hysterical, "I'm really sorry I lied to you, your highness, but I meant nothing but good by it, please don't hit me!" she cried.

"So I spoke to Musa," he folded his arms.

"_You what_?" she gasped. She hated how all this stuff was happening while she was locked away.

"Yeah, she told me a bunch of stuff, including but not limited to the fact that you're scared of moths and the you actually mistook fire for fabric." He laughed, "I don't understand how anyone can do that,"

"I was tired, okay?" she huffed. "I'm sorry I lied to you," she said again, her expression softening.

"I'll admit, I'm not thrilled by the way things played out, but seeing as it's you, I think I can put it behind me," he smiled gently.

"What do you mean by 'seeing as it's me'?" She asked quietly.

"Baltor's ridiculous story could have been true, but as soon as I realised who you were I knew that I had to doubt it."

"So, you do remember me?"

"I never actually forgot you," he said quietly, "Anyway, we have to get you out of here,"

"Brandon and Stella are alive, but only just" Flora blurted out, "They're in Linphea, mother nature told me…"

"Well, that's where we need to go then,"

"FLO!" Musa exclaimed from the window behind Flora. She spun around and squealed in excitement.

"MUSE!" Flora ran up to the window, "RIVEN! What are you guys doing here?"

"We're breaking you out! We don't have much time, we saw a guy watching us walk around here," Musa said quietly, "Helia, if you get her out of the cell I can cast an invisibility spell on her,"

"Oh, taking charge are we?" Riven rolled his eyes, and Musa slapped him on the arm.

"Let's think, how could I get her out…" Helia pondered, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out his laser string glove, "It's worth a try," he said out loud. "Okay, stand back," he warned, putting on the glove. He released the string, and pulled off the lock in one swift motion, making the door fall off completely. "Boom." He said smugly.

"That was amazing!" Flora grinned, stepping out of the cell, "Okay, Musa, do your thing,"

"This spell only lasts five minutes so make it out QUICKLY," she warned, and then cast a spell, making Flora fade away.

"Okay Flora, we're going to run, if I get stopped, you keep going."

"Alright,"

"Let's go."

Helia started to run out of the dungeons and Flora followed after him. They climbed the stairs and ran through the grand hallway, they were almost to the door when Helia saw Baltor walking in the opposite direction.

"What are you still doing here?" Baltor asked him. Helia frowned, but Flora knew that she had to keep running.

"They haven't kicked me out quite yet; whether I'm marrying the princess or not we're still on good terms," Helia replied.

"The princess is dead." Baltor stated coldly.

"Yes, I know," Helia sighed, "What's your deal anyway?"

"'My deal' boy, is that I am about to become the happiest man in the world," Baltor grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"I just asked for Queen Luna's hand in marriage, and she accepted," Baltor laughed, but still, coldly. Helia's eyes widened, but then narrowed, he didn't have time to do anything about it now.

"Congratulations!" he said stiffly, "When's the ceremony?"

"At dawn, to symbolise a new beginning." He said, "Be sure to stick around for the ceremony,"

"Of course," Helia nodded, "Now if you'll excuse me, one of the Nighly guards messed up in the town and I have to get down there as soon as possible," Helia ran off as fast as he could. Once he was outside the gates, he saw Riven wave to him from the tree where they had been speaking before. Musa was hugging Flora and Flora was rubbing her head.

"I had to jump over the wall," she said dazedly, "Oh no!" she snapped out of it and looked down at her appearance.

"What?" asked Riven.

"I'm still wearing the princesses gown!" she pulled at the light silk pink gown she had on.

"Hey, wait a minute," Musa put her finger on her chin, "I think you made this one,"

"What?" Flora looked again, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we were arguing about what kind of cheese is better-,"

"You what?" Riven raised an eyebrow.

"Flora just does not appreciate a good strong blue cheese." Musa shook her head.

"It's gross!" Flora testified.

"And then Flora stomped on the pedal of the sewing machine too hard, and she managed to fix the damaged made, but she ran out of thread so…" Musa turned her around and looked down at the seam, "A green thread to finish the dress off!"

"Oh my gosh, I did make this!" Flora squealed excitedly, "It's not too bad, what do you guys think?"

"It's beautiful, Flora, you look lovely" Helia smiled, while Riven just shrugged.

"Who stopped you anyway?" Riven asked.

"Oh that was just- Oh crap." Helia sighed. "It was Baltor, he told me that he's marrying Queen Luna at dawn, we have to find Stella, and fast,"

"Who's Baltor?" asked Musa.

"The guy who hit you and took Stella and Brandon." Riven answered casually.

"He what!?" Flora exclaimed.

"Lets get going, we can fill everyone in on everything on the way to Linphea." Helia put a hand on his forehead in despair.

"Linphea?"

"That's where Baltor took Stella and Brandon, nature told me," Flora said gently.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

~_A/N~_

_Well what did cha think? This flipping chapter is almost 4000 words long, my fingers hurt -.-_


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